THE CHAMPS – The Cotuit Kettleers celebrate winning the 2010 Barnstable Patriot Cup July 31 in Hyannis. The Kettleers won the series 4-2.

Cotuit wins down-to-the-wire series

Baseball tournaments are supposed to be exciting, and the 2010 Patriot Cup didn’t disappoint, coming right down to the final inning of the last game, ending with the Cotuit Kettleers claiming the trophy.

After rain forced a reschedule, the teams ended up playing Games 5 and 6 back-to-back. Game 5 took place July 30 in Cotuit, with Hyannis claiming a win that made the annual series more interesting, as once again a tiebreak might have been needed.

The Harbor Hawks struck first, tallying a run in the second inning of Game 5 when Casey McElroy came home on a single from Cody Stubbs.

Hyannis scored again in the fifth when Jeff Lusardi brought in John Ruettiger on a long single down the middle, and then took a 3-0 lead in the sixth when Charley Thurber came home on a sacrifice hit from Hector Crespo.

It took Cotuit until the seventh inning to get past Hyannis pitchers Cole Cook and Drew Verhagen. After six scoreless innings in which Cook struck out two and allowed just four hits, he showed signs of fatigue, walking Cotuit’s first batter of the inning, Deven Marrero.

After forcing a fly out from John Hinson, Cook saw Jordan Leyland smack a long double, which he parlayed into a triple that chased Cook from the game.

With two men on and only one out, Cotuit’s Michael Yastrzemski stepped to the plate, drew a strike, and then clocked a triple to right that brought in Marrero and Leyland for two Kettleer runs.

With the score narrowed to 3-2, the Kettleers hoped to stave off further damage, but the Hawks had other plans, plating run No. 4 in the eighth before shutting Cotuit down in the ninth.

The Hawks’ winning run came from McElroy who crossed the plate on a single from Dan Sheppard.

Hyannis pitcher Dallas Gallant earned the save for the Hawks in the ninth, striking out one and allowing one hit before striking out Zach Cone to retire the side and end the game.

After less than a 24-hour break, the friendly cross-town rivals were back in action, this time at McKeon Park in Hyannis, where the Harbor Hawks flew to an early lead on a nice homer from McElroy.

The Kettleers, determined not to let the Cup slip away, responded with a run of their own in the second when Marrero scored on a single from Yastrzemski.

At that point a pitcher’s duel ensued, with neither team able to put a run across until Cotuit broke the tie in the eighth with two runs that ironically didn’t even come on hits.

After Brian Dupra forced a fly-out from Paul Hoilman to start the inning, he walked Marrero to put one on with one out.

The Hyannis reliever then loaded the bases, first with a single from Joey Hainsfuther, and then with a walk from Michael Faulkner.

Yaz brought in the go-ahead run after being walked by Messer, to score Marrero; with Hainsfuther crossing the plate for the winning run moments later after a pitch hit Chad Wright.

The Hawks hoped to send the series into a tiebreak in the ninth, with Zach Osborne leading off the inning with a single to reach first.

Mark Micowski’s walk advanced Osborne to put two on with no outs and give Hawks’ fans hope as Ruettiger, the potential winning run, stepped to the plate.

Cotuit pitcher Ryan Duke kept his cool, though, and forced a fly-out from Ruettiger and Hyannis’ final batters, AJ Pettersen and McElroy, for a Cotuit victory.

Following the win, second baseman John Hinson stepped forward to accept the official Patriot Cup trophy from editor David Still, II while his teammates offered applause.

“Competition is the reason we’re here,” said Cotuit’s head coach, Mike Roberts. “We have a wonderful relationship with Hyannis. We were fortunate this year to win. We appreciate the Patriot and the people behind the award and the fact that they’re willing to support it every year.”

Cotuit’s general manager, Bruce Murphy, was proud of the accomplishment.

“We are very appreciative of The Barnstable Patriot for putting the Cup series together,” he said, adding that he was grateful for the coverage of the teams throughout the season. “It’s a little excitement in the community.”